Chicken soup
by Lil-Samuu
Summary: Lloyd looks after a tired and upset Colette while Raine and Sheena chat about relationships.


Short piece of fluff with a little bit of angst thrown in :) Set some time in the game when Sheena hasn't really had a chance to figure out the relationships between the characters, but when Colette is fully herself, and able to cry, feel and has an appetite. Whenever that may be. Probably when there's at least one other party member, but they must be on night watch :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Tales of Symphonia. I do own a cute Colette figure and a blank space on a shelf which is waiting to be filled with a Lloyd figure whenever it arrives in the post, but I don't own Tales of Symphonia.

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Running into random monsters that wanted to kill them wasn't unusual, but Colette's reaction to this particular set of monsters was. 

"LEAVE US ALONE!" she screamed and attacked the monsters so fiercely none of the other party members got to get a hit in.

"Colette, what's wrong?" Lloyd turned to the girl, concern evident in his voice.

"I just, I just," Colette started in an angry voice but her tone turned sad as she collapsed against Lloyd. "I'm just so tired and fed up!"

Lloyd held her tightly and uttered soothing words to her as he rubbed her back and let her cry on his shoulder.

Sheena was impressed, most men had no clue what to do when a woman cried and tried to run away. Lloyd, however, knew just what to do to soothe Colette. Another thing to like about him.

"Shhhhh, it's OK," he whispered to the little angel soothingly. "It's alright, just let it all out, shhhhh,"

Colette continued sobbing, occasionally muttering about how there were always monsters and how tiring it was and, and,

Lloyd blinked, she'd cried herself to sleep.

"Shhhh," he said again softly as he eased himself and the sleeping girl to the ground. She nuzzled him and curled up in his lap, able to find a place where she felt safe even in her sleep.

"May we," Lloyd started, looking up to Raine.

"Of course we can set up camp for the night," the half-elf said kindly.

The others went about setting up camp while Lloyd sat with Colette curled up asleep in his lap. Even though she was asleep he kept uttering calming words to her and softly played with her hair in a soothing way.

Colette slept through dinner, and after a while the portion of food they'd saved for her went cold. Lloyd pulled a thoughtful face and asked Genis to bring him some cooking things. The older boy moved closer to the fire carefully, making sure not to disturb Colette. He ate the cold food while cooking something fresh for her.

While he was waiting for it to finish heating up he toasted a few slices of bread, then buttered them and held them close to Colette's nose. He softly whispered her name, trying to get her to wake up.

She slowly did so, and blinked sleepily.

"Your dinner's almost ready," he smiled.

"What are we having?" the blonde asked around a yawn. 

"We had curry, you're having chicken soup," Lloyd said. Colette looked puzzled.

"You slept through dinner, and your portion got cold, so I cooked you some soup. Thought it might make you feel better," he smiled.

"Lloyd, thank you!" Colette sat up and hugged him.

"S'alright," he said as he handed her the toast. "Now, eat that before it goes cold as well."

Lloyd turned his attention back to the small pot of soup as Colette ate the toast ravenously. Lloyd took a taste of the soup and nodded, satisfied it was perfect. He poured some out into a small bowl.

"C'mere," Lloyd smiled and patted his lap. Colette looked puzzled but obediently settled in his lap. She made herself comfortable then looked over her shoulder with a curious expression.

"Turn back around," Lloyd instructed, and Colette did so. She smiled with delight as Lloyd put some soup into a spoon and offered it to her. She purred, snuggling back against his chest, and sat absolutely content as Lloyd fed her dinner.

On the other side of the fire Sheena sat down next to Raine.

"He really cares for her huh?" she said.

"I don't think he just cares for her, I think he loves her," Raine said thoughtfully.

"And she feels the same?" Sheena asked.

"I'm pretty sure that's so," Raine said, a small smile on her lips as she watched the cute couple. Genis yawned and rubbed his eyes. 

"Whaddid I miss?" he asked as he crawled out of Raine's lap and sleepily rummaged through his travel bag for a canteen of water.

"Nothing much, just speculating about those two," Sheena said as she nodded at Lloyd and Colette. The girl had finished the first bowl of soup and Lloyd was pouring out the rest of what he'd cooked into the bowl for her, clearly pleased she was enjoying it so much.

"Them two?" Genis asked, to sleepy to worry about grammar. "They love each other to bits."

"What makes you say that?" Sheena asked the mage. She had a good idea herself but was curious about what the others thought.

"Just look at them," Genis said. He took a swig from his canteen.

"They're all mushy, always looking out for each other, working as a team and all that," he yawned. "Of course, they're nice to pretty much everybody, they're nice people, but they're especially nice to each other. I mean look, he's feeding her!" he nodded at them. Colette had finished the soup and Lloyd was playing a silly game with her involving the chocolate biscuits they'd saved for her for dessert.

Sheena sighed. Should couldn't deny it really, those two were definitely a pair. She frowned slightly, then sighed and shrugged. Thinking about it they suited each other.

"There now," Lloyd smiled at Colette, who was now wearing her night clothes, as he tucked her into her sleeping bag. "Better?"

"Almost," Colette said, pulling a puppy dog eyes face and patting the space next to her in the bag.

"Oh alright then, but just for tonight," he said, knowing really that it probably wouldn't be. "Back in a minute." He went to find a private spot away from camp to change into his night clothes.

"Know what one of the really nice things they did for me once was," Genis said to Sheena as he curled up in his sister's lap, this time with a blanket.

"What's that?" she asked.

"For my birthday, they helped Raine pack a big picnic hamper. And then they hid it at Lloyd's house so I wouldn't find it, and then those two carried it all the way to school by themselves," Genis smiled, his eyes half closed.

Lloyd returned in a snuggly pair of pyjamas and started to snuggle into the large sleeping bag beside Colette.

"Lloyd Irving, what are you up to?" Raine's voice made him pause.

"Please Professor, I sleep so much better when Lloyd's beside me," Colette said sleepily. Lloyd just shrugged and pulled a 'what can I do?' kind of face.

Sheena smiled. Apparently the reason Lloyd has been allowed to come along on this journey in the first place was because Colette had insisted on it. Those two really were adorable.

"Oh alright," Raine sighed. "But if you even try to get up to anything you're flying to the next seal, understand?" she waved a paper fan threateningly.

"OK," Lloyd yawned, not really understanding what Raine thought they were going to do, they were exhausted. He cuddled Colette and she made a cute little happy noise as she snuggled closer to him, already three-quarters asleep.

"They won't get up to anything, they wouldn't know how, they're so innocent," Genis smirked sleepily.

"And what would you know about that sort of thing?" Raine raised an eyebrow at her younger brother.

"I hear things," he said, earning himself a smack from the paper fan.

Sheena giggled. This group of travellers was an odd bunch but they were, as Genis might put it perhaps, nice people.

"Awwww, Professor, I don't think you have anything to worry about," she smiled and gestured in the direction of Lloyd and Colette. Both were fast asleep, content, peaceful expressions on their faces. Raine smiled as well.

"I hope I can find someone like that one day," Sheena sighed.

"You never know, you might. Nice things and people can turn up in the oddest places," Raine said. "He turned up for her abandoned in a forest with Noishe." She nodded at Lloyd.

"Really?" Sheena asked. "Wonder why he was abandoned. I bet he was cute as a kid."

"Pain in the neck more like," Raine said. She checked her brother was asleep. "If you promise not to tell them I told you and make a cup of tea for me I'll tell you about some of the mad things he, and Colette sometimes, they were usually together, got up to at school.

"Sounds like a good deal," Sheena smiled. She put a kettle over the fire and grabbed a blanket. 

As Raine began Sheena smiled to herself. There was, she realised she'd forgotten, something very nice about sharing stories around a campfire.


End file.
